Have fun with more Wordless Wednesday.

In an effort to live green, eco-conscious and more healthy, I have been obsessively attempting to go beyond my comfort level. I am so not a cook. J did all the cooking when we were students and later when I graduated and started working. This worked out perfectly as far as I was concerned, however once I started staying home with the kids, it felt wrong to expect him to cook when I was here, like all day. So I find myself attempting all sorts of recipes to keep us healthy and to reduce our consumption of packaging. I actually enjoy cooking, if I have the time and space to do so. It is another form of creative self expression, something I never appreciated before.

Even though we are making an effort, our garbage seems to be a lot. Our city has a great recycling program, but I still find certain plastics that I cannot recycle. The cashiers at the grocery store eye my Green Bags and the fact that I do not place my produce in a plastic bag with disdain. I am not sure why they seem to be bothered by it all. I have witnessed a huge shift in the way people are approaching shopping since we arrived. One sees many more reusable bags than ever before (in fact one grocery store no longer offers plastic bags).

Yesterday I made caesar salad from scratch. We even toasted the croutons (from stale whole wheat hot dog buns!). One excellent bonus of making dinner from scratch is Becca participates in the process. She loves cooking and although it is rather challenging at times to include her in every step, the outcome is worth it. She takes such pride in the dinners (and baking) that we do together. It forces me to be creative so that she is capable of helping. She tore the bread for our croutons and help stir in ingredients for the dressing. To top it off she adores salad and ate tons last night at dinner!

It was an interesting version of the dressing, but mighty tasty! My In-laws gave me the book, Main Dish Salads for Christmas, and the recipe is from that. I *think* I can share just this one with you, and once you try it you will rush out to your library or bookstore to buy the book (aka I am not trying to breech copyright here).

Light Caesar Salad Dressing
3 garlic cloves, peeled
4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, well drained
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
3 tablespoons yogurt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Press the garlic (I chopped since I do not have a press) and place them in a large salad bowl (I placed them in my hand blender to whip it all up fast). Add the 4 anchovy fillets & with the tines of a fork, mash them together with the garlic until the form a smooth paste (I have no idea what that means so like I said, I used the hand blender). Stirring briskly  with a whisk, add lemon juice &  Worcestershire sauce. Add the mustard powder and stir until dissolved. Whisk in the yogurt until blended, then pour the olive oil in a slow and steady stream (I used slightly less than 1/2 a cup of oil just to reduce a little of the fattiness)

There you have it a yummy and healthier version of Caesar salad! The salad would be so yummy with chicken or shrimp (we had left over fried rice so i did not add anything else). It was so satisfying doing it from scratch, only byproducts where compost-able & my family ate healthy!  I think I need to sew Becca and myself matching fabulous aprons in the near future!

Ahh it is a bright, beautiful Monday morning. Despite the fact I got little sleep last night between designing and my darling baby boy, I feel good. Real good. This post was almost called “Manic Monday … Ooo Weee Oooo ….”, due to a rough start on Becs part, but alas all is well in our corner of the woods again.

We had an amazing weekend. We were crazy busy. Even social. I know. Shocking.

Look at my soccer girl. Doesn’t she rock the house? Becs was so bursting with excitement about the big soccer practice that upon arrival she got a tad spooked. There was a lot of new kids, couches with a lot of instructions and only two YELLOW balls. The rest were merely white and paled in comparison to the YELLOW ball. In fact the YELLOW ball became a security object for Becca. In the end she did quite well. It is fun to watch her, trip through the class, all social norms whooshing over her “my mom stays at home” head. When asked to head to the end of the line, she stared blankly at the coach then proceeded to jump ahead of everyone {repeatedly} to kick the ball. J cruised over and explained then she was all down with the line concept. It is funny what we take for granted. We do not experience many “lines, wait your turn in sequence” here at home.

Ethan has gone from, a tentative walker, to a walk all the time, who needs to crawl, kid. He also has cut back his nursing throughout the day (much to my dismay, mind you he made up for it last night, the kid is a trickster). He has such a great passion for all that he adores. It is so cool.

For about five minutes we thought we might be pregnant again. We are not even sure that another baby is in our future, but I have to admit I was totally bummed that I was baron. Like somehow I lost something that wasn’t even there. J of course was mystified by my behaviour and was extremely relieved. That annoyed me beyond belief. The cad.

I am just bursting with energy and ideas. I love it. I do hope to sit still long enough to catch up with you all. My attention span has been spotty at best as of late.

How was your weekend?

I have been tagged and tagged and tagged … here is my crazy attempt to catch up …

JJ tagged me with a husband meme …

How long did you date? 3 years.

How old is he? 31! I am older by 8 months (wiser too hehe)

Who eats more? Him! He is almost a foot taller, I figure he needs it!

Who said “I love you” first? I did.

Who is taller? Look above.

Who sings better? Neither one of us should hurt people by singing.

Who is smarter? He has a PhD and is really good at chemistry … I kick is butt on everything else Ew except mecanics and mathematics …

Whose temper is worse? I do not even think he has a temper.

Who does the laundry? He helps, but folding and putting it all away is EXTREMELY challenging for him.

Who does the dishes? Moi.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I am always right … always

Who pays the bills? I do I do.

Who cooks dinner? I do but he used to, now that I stay at home I have less excuses not to.

Who drives when you are together? Depends. I know the city better but he likes to feel manly.

Who is more stubborn? lol. We are both very determined.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me and made my knees go all weak.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I am always right. Really.

Whose parents do you see the most? My Dad is on his own so he travels a lot to us which is nice.

Who proposed? He did. While he was wearing a laundry basket (hehe Halloween party!)

Who is more sensitive? Totally me.

Who has more friends? I totally rock the friend circuit. Are molecules friends? Never used to be that way but I like use the kids to make friends for me.

Who has more siblings? I am an only child but have some half siblings that I meant once. He has a sister that is the coolest chic ever.

Who wears the pants in the family? If I catch him in a dress again…. HAHAH Just joking. I am the ruler of the universe. But I let him think he is .. Love you babe!

Ok Next Up Midori tagged me with 8 random facts meme about the kids:

1. Ethan is walking! He still likes to crawl since he is so fast, but he is definitely walking now! w00t!

2. Becca spelled her name on the chalk board today!!! ALL BY HERSELF. It is perfectly backwards and missing a few letters but PERFECT IN EVERY WAY.

3. Ethan loves to eat kidney beans. My kids are weird.

4. Becca wore a hole in her knee for the first time ever. She grew so fast and was not active kid before. Now she is super active and not growing quite so crazy.

5. Ethan adores our cat. Our cat adores Ethan. They love to snuggle while I nurse him (Ethan not the cat obviously)

6. Becca can look at books for upwards to an hour without moving or speaking.

7. Ethan still does not sleep through the night but is now down to getting up once or twice. A huge improvement from the four to five times a few months ago.

8. Becca sleeps like a rock. Even Ethan crying in their room does not cause her to stir. We wake her sort of to use the potty before we go to bed, she is barely conscious and returns to bed without musing.

Devilish Southern Belle tagged me for 10 weirdo random facts or habits meme.

1.I chew gum constantly. If I am not eating or sleeping, I am chewing gum.

2.I have not painted my toes since getting pregnant with Ethan. I miss pretty toes but I want to find a less toxic nail polish first.

3.I have grey hair. Like a lot of it. I am trying to decide what to do about it.

4.My husband thinks my grey hair is sexy. I think he is weird.

5.Half way there hmmm … At one point in my life I had two brothers named Jason. Now I have no contact with either.

6.In fact my “real” mom hasn’t spoken to me since I was 18. Before that she has spoken to me a total of a dozen times or so. She left me with my Dad when I was 6 months old (thank the heavens). She has two other children that she took with her.

7.The above sent me to hours upon hours of therapy trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

8.It wasn’t until I met my husband that I came to understand that there is nothing wrong with me, that I am lovable. Thanks husband!

9.I want my husband to get the motorcycle of his dreams. I know most wives are not really thrilled about the idea, but I think it is sexy and he totally deserves to have something outside his job & family that he enjoys (someday, I get my our house first!)

10.I want to get my motorcycle license then build a sidecar for J … ’cause that would be HILARIOUS.

Lastly, forever ago Crystal tagged me for the Page 123 meme:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

But most today seem to believe that if sucking of an intense nature stops before the second teeth come in, probably little harm will be done if Nature has lined the teeth up straight to begin with. Our own preference is not to make too much of the whole thing, certainly in the years before Six or so. Most children realize that their parents do not especially favor this behavior. — Your Four Year Old: Wild and Wonderful

Exciting material eh? It is from a series of books that are totally an AWESOME window into the behaviour of children at certain ages. Holly recommended Your Three-Year-Old: Friend or Enemy … and WOW it changed my view on everything! The “solutions” in the books are not really my parenting thing (like in the Three year old book they pretty much say the only solution is to send your kid to preschool because there is no hope till they grow out of that stage). I am also reading Your One Year Old!

Ok I am feeling much much better … Have you played along with all of these yet? I you want to play consider yourself tagged … I need a nap now Have a fabulous weekend!

In the chaos of life, I sadly forgot that yesterday was Earth Day. I take solace in knowing that every day we are making the effort ot be kinder to the earth.

I was fortunate to receive a copy of Gorgeously Green from Harper Collins. Oh MY! Sophie Uliano presents living eco-fabulous in such a fun and realistic way. Often, the attempt to live green is overwhelming and confusing. This book provides awesome information and steps to help everyone live with more of an eco-conscious. There are some things in the book that are a tad on the silly side. One tip that Sophie Uliano gives is to open your oven door after baking to heat your home. However, if you think that statement through, where would the heat go if you did not open the oven door? Why in your home of course! Yes the surge of warmth is more inviting when it is quick, but there would be a gradually increase in temperature in your home if you baked then kept the oven door closed. However, most of the tips and ideas are inspiring and doable, even for a super busy Mom.

I have been obsessed with green living as of late. Sophie Uliano’s book has forced me to look at a lot of things in our home. Now I am frugile, so I cannot switch, throw out and be all kind to the environment all at once. It does bother me hugely that our water is totally linked to the ocean. I feel like it is my family’s RESPONSIBILITY not to be evil to the ocean. I am switching to an eco-friendly shampoo and conditioner, and I hope to find a body wash as well. Upon moving here, we have switched to reusable bags to shop, we compost everything, recycle what we can and the plastic that finds its way in our home that cannot be recycled is used by the kids to play or crafts. I only drive the car once per week, choosing to walk the rest.

What I have enjoyed most about the book, Gorgeously Green, is how much it has got me thinking and talking about this shift in living. Even my husband, who is forever the practical chemist and not quite so easily swayed by the hype, has been more open to the possibilities. We are making small changes that we hope will not only teach our children to be kinder to the Earth, but make a difference as well.

All we can do is try. Every little bit counts. If you do not believe that, how do you believe in your children? They are little and they make a HUGE difference in the world (even if it is merely, your world). Every choice we make to save the environment now, will ensure a better tomorrow. If you are looking for a place to start, Gorgeously Green is totally a great resource.